Shining Spirit
by Super Vegetarott
Summary: When Goku is slain by Piccolo Junior's might at the twenty-third World Martial Arts Tournament, the Z-Fighters are left distraught. Left without their beacon of hope, they must battle on against the onslaught of threats against Planet Earth - not just the villains invading the Earth, but tenuous relationships, unresolved emotion, and the risk of implosion among themselves.
1. The Glue Breaks

"While I live, I want to shine. I want to prove that I exist. If I could do something really important... That would definitely carry on into the future. No... Not just into the future. In my friends' future too... My spirit has become part of them, I believe. In them, my spirit is alive. And that spirit could be passed along to others. And so, if I were to disappear...I think all that I have accomplished will go on. That is... That would mean...that it's living, right?"

Grovyle to Dusknoir, _Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky_

* * *

 **Piccolo Junior Saga - Part 1: The Glue Breaks**

There was nothing he could say. Nothing he could do.

His best friend's body hit the floor, lifeless, with a gaping hole in his chest. There would never be another word spoken by Son Goku in this life, and the green demon laying just outside the ring was responsible for it.

Rage coursed through his being. Anger fueled him. He could barely hear the ring announcer(feebly) announce Piccolo's being rung out, but he knew that Piccolo was nothing short of the winner in this encounter.

"GOOKUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Krillin cried, slamming his fist into the pavement. No one knew what to say, paralyzed just as he was.

But they couldn't understand. The bond he shared with Goku ran deeper than friendship, deeper than his own soul. When he died, Goku had been there for him, to avenge him.

Krillin knew he had no choice but to do the same.

With a battle cry, he lunged toward the half-conscious Piccolo and threw his leg into the side of the demon's skull. The monster recoiled, howling in pain, as he was sent tumbling even further out in the barren wasteland once known as the World Tournament site.

Krillin didn't give Piccolo a reprieve. He was at his side in an instant, firing off continual strikes to Piccolo's already injured ribcage. "You! Killed! Him!"

He was glad none of the others joined in. He needed this kill all to himself.

* * *

"Hrgh!" Piccolo retched up a spew of red blood, nearly choking on it as Krillin rained down all of his anger on him. He knew he was about to die a pitiful death at the hands of the bald midget, but at least he would go to Hell knowing that his father was avenged.

'Avenged…' Piccolo thought, an idea turning in his half-conscious mind. 'That's it!'

"You'd… best… stop…" the monster breathed out, coughing all the while.

To his delight, Krillin did just that. He kept a fist balled right in front of his heart, however, skeptical of him. Piccolo couldn't blame him. If he had the energy, he'd have taken out his heart the same way he had Goku's. "Without… me… you won't have… hgn… the Dragon Balls…"

Krillin froze in terror. "W-What do you…?"

"The… old man…" Piccolo struggled to speak, "Kami… he and I are held together. His life force… is my own. And without us… your Dragon Balls… are all gone…"

Piccolo blanked out for a moment, the injuries to his body much too severe. However, he awoke almost immediately to the sound of Kami's angered voice calling out to his adversary.

"Don't listen to him!" Kami roared. "He's lying to you, Krillin! Kill him and end this now!"

"Heh… heh... " Piccolo faintly chuckled, just barely managing to sit up. "He's… bluffing. Go ahead… kill me. You'll never see… Son Goku again…"

Krillin, just as he'd hoped, looked hesitant. He looked between the two counterparts, wondering who to believe. But Piccolo knew where his feelings resided. 'He won't let Goku be gone for good. I know it.'

"I-I…" Krillin uttered, nearly trembling. 'This is it. I can kill the biggest threat to the world… but I might lose my best friend. And I… I can't just… do that…'

"Krillin!" Yamcha called out. "Finish him, now! Why would Kami lie to us?"

"Y-You fool!" Piccolo cried out, just barely managing to get to his feet now. He nearly tripped over himself as he began to walk backward. "He'll kill himself… and your Dragon Balls! Do… you really want that?!"

* * *

Krillin wanted to kill him. He really did. But his body just wouldn't comply, no matter how much he wanted to take his revenge. 'Goku… what would you do? I can't just let you vanish forever…'

If it wasn't for Krillin's quick eye, the decision might have been taken out of his hands forever. He swiftly rushed past Piccolo, who gasped in surprise, and tackled Tien down with all his might.

"Krillin!" Tien gasped, trying to prevent the ex-monk from pinning his arms down. "What are you doing?!"

"The only thing I can!" he responded righteously. "I'm saving Goku!"

"If you don't kill him, we'll all join him! Goku wouldn't… want that!" Tien summoned his inner energy, and with a firm "HYAH!", blasted Krillin off him. He landed with a pained grunt back in the center of the now-destroyed ring, gasping for air.

The next thing he knew, he was being picked up by the scruff of his neck by Yamcha. He couldn't bear to look into his enraged eyes, instead choosing to look at the wasteland below him.

"What do you think you're doing?" the ex-bandit roared. "You let him get away!"

Krillin felt an intense pang of guilt. 'He… he couldn't have… Kami would've…' He mustered enough courage to look up, and realized that there was a faint trail of white glimmering in the sky. He really was to blame.

"...I'm not sorry," he breathed out, after several long moments. "This was the only way… we had a shot at reviving Goku."

He braced himself, expecting Yamcha to hit him. He wouldn't have blamed him, truthfully. But instead, Yamcha turned him toward the rest of the group.

"Look at this," the long-haired warrior growled. Chi-Chi had fainted in near synchronicity with Goku; the martial arts tournament announcer and Launch were trying to handle tending to her. Bulma could no longer suppress her tears for the fallen warrior, letting out shrill shrieks while Chiaotzu tried to tend to her. Kami, for his part, could not stop staring at the corpse of his former student.

"You could have helped them," Yamcha continued to press on. "You could've made Piccolo pay. But now, he's flying around scot-free and we still have a crisis on our hands!"

"Goku is our only hope at stopping him, Yamcha…" Krillin wanted to cry at the sight of his friends' torment, but he couldn't. He had to be strong, just as he knew Goku was when he had passed on. "He had Piccolo beat. If he was one second faster, Piccolo's attack would never have hit him at all. And besides… we all need him with us."

Yamcha sighed, letting Krillin stand on his own two feet. "I know, Krillin. But that doesn't make this right." His face hardened. "We have to get the Dragon Balls. And we have to hurry. I don't think our battle with Piccolo is over yet…"

* * *

Little did he know, Yamcha's premonition was quite true. Although Piccolo hadn't been able to fly long, having crashed down in some unknown forest, he was already scheming of how to continue his plans for world domination. He had already killed Goku, his biggest obstacle to that goal, but he knew it wasn't permanent. Not yet, anyway.

"I need a Dragon Ball. Just one will do…" An evil smirk crept up Piccolo's face. "If I can play cat and mouse with the Earthlings for just one year, I can permanently keep Goku in the Other World. And when that happens… the Earth is all mine! Bwahaha!"

* * *

 _Hello, everyone, and welcome to my newest project(I'd normally say the title, but in truth, it's not permanent as of now). This is my first update of 2017, but in reality, it feels like years since I've written something seriously. And if you're a previous fan of mine, you know just how I've felt over the past year about FanFiction. With that said, I'm going to put that in the past and look toward the future._

 _This fic stemmed from my realization that every prominent story of mine on this site has been about Son Goku. In some way, he was changed, and often not for the better. The main reason I would use this approach in my stories was that I felt the Goku character was perfect, and that I never wanted to change a single thing about him._

 _So the only logical progression for me was, in this story, to kill him straight off the bat. That's not to say he'll be dead forever - that's something you'll need to read more of to find out what happens to our favorite hero._

 _Furthermore, I wanted to create a story that completely relied on jumping into Z in general while still leaving a bunch of possibilities open for me to tweak the timeline. This was the best opportunity for me to do that, I think. I will, unfortunately, miss out on writing one of my favorite(and, from what I understand, best-written) characters in King Piccolo, but hopefully my portrayal of both Piccolo Junior and Kami can make up for that. To that end, another thing about this particular tale is that I'll be working with characters that I hadn't really gotten the chance to before. I'm definitely excited about the bits and pieces I've got in mind, and should this story continue, you should be too._

 _As with my previous update, I'm not promising a full return to FFN. I've changed a lot as a person over these five years, and so have my interests and priorities. I have a lot of ambition for several different projects, most of which will take precedence over this(I'll discuss this in a later update or something, when it's more relevant to what happens in the story). I really only want to write when my muse will allow me to take pleasure in it, and sometimes, even when I DO have the free time to write, I'm just not invested in it. That's part of the reason I suffered from burnout originally._

 _I would also like to formally announce that I'll be taking somewhat of a writing and planning role in_ Bringer of Death. _I've been in contact with npberryhill - he and I are good friends - and, truthfully, with this idea in my mind and the offer in place, I did feel that drive to return again. For those of you who haven't written before, or have only done so solo, I want you to know that there's a major motivator in sharing your creative energy with someone else. They will give you someone to depend on, give you something to strive for, and most importantly, bring out the best in you. This project will most likely remain a solo endeavor, but I'm hoping that working on_ Bringer of Death _with two esteemed writers like npb and David will help me transition back to a healthy dose of creative work on FanFiction again._

 _I don't want to be someone who updates too much, or someone who updates too little. There is more to life than FanFiction, but there's also a part of me that truly does miss it and wants to enjoy it in moderation. I hope that all of you can understand where I've been the last few months and hopefully come to accept me as an author on this site again._

 _I'm still working on figuring out myself, and this story is admittedly part of that process. It should be obvious that the main theme behind this story is finding oneself and finding meaning within one's life._

 _I know I've ranted a lot, and that's usually something that I don't want to do in an opening chapter, but I want to let everyone reading this story, fan of mine or completely new, where my heart is right now._

 _Thank you all for reading this installment, and I hope to see you in the next chapter._


	2. Humbled

**Piccolo Junior Saga - Part 2: Humbled**

 _Other World…_

From his position amongst the seemingly infinite yellow nimbus structure, a blue-haired ogre screeched his orders into a large bullhorn. "Please approach the check-in station in an orderly fashion! All right, behave, you ingrates!"

Goku, for his part, just kept truffling along. There was no other action to describe what he was able to do in this nonexistent form. There was no way to describe his thoughts, as, in the moment, his dehumanized form was only able to listen and respond to the ogre's instructions.

He didn't know how long he had been moving about - it could have been several days' time or simply just several seconds - but finally, he felt himself coming to a stop.

"Kami!" he suddenly heard a baritone voice growl out. "And just what are you doing here?"

"This soul is different, King Yemma. I'm sure, just by reviewing his track record, you can see it."

The voice - presumably, this King Yemma - let out a grunt. Another undisclosed period of time lapsed, and he heard the very same grunt again. "I see what you mean. You have my permission to restore his body."

Suddenly, there was a brief flash of light, and Goku found himself with the body he had always known. He took a minute to marvel at his hands again, his legs, and his head…

"Gah!" Goku did a double take, noticing just what lay at the top of his vision. "Is… is that a halo?!"

"Yes, Son Goku." Kami closed his eyes. "I'm sorry to say it, but Piccolo killed you in your battle at the World Martial Arts Tournament. One stray blast of his following a head strike did you in."

"Aw, shoot!" Goku pouted, folding his arms. "I thought I had that won. Hehehe… it was a good fight, at least."

" **QUIET!"** bellowed King Yemma. Goku had to cover his ears at hearing such a loud, booming voice. Now that he had the ability to see him firsthand, Goku had to marvel at just how huge this ogre was compared to the others. "Now that you can see the line behind you, you can understand that I have a **LOT** of paperwork to do!"

"I apologize for him, King Yemma," Kami hastily spoke. "I resurrected his body here because Son Goku's role in the living world isn't finished yet. He has to defeat Piccolo Junior… not for any sort of retribution, but for the sake of the world. Is there any way we can grant him a one day pass to kill Piccolo?"

" **A one day pass?!"** King Yemma howled, slamming his gargantuan hands on his table. "Kami, you have a lot of clout as a Guardian, but this… this is too much to ask for. Although Son Goku's saved the Earth many times, there are many others waiting for approval already. I can't just cut him to the front of the line because of one planet."

"'Sides, I wasn't actually gonna kill him," Goku revealed, taking on a more serious mien. "He may not be the best guy around, but he's barely done anything wrong."

Kami deadpanned. "Goku… he killed you."

"To be fair, I was kinda asking for it," Goku frowned. "I wish I didn't have to kill King Piccolo. It was something on my mind for a while now. Yeah, he deserved it… but by me doing what I did, I guess I kinda asked for this new Piccolo to come around. He deserved to beat me, if only because I took away his dad."

"This philosophical talk is nice and all… but I'm going to need to give Goku his sentence now, before you put me behind another hundred years' worth of work," King Yemma declared. "Goku, I'm sure you know that with your standing, you're obviously not going down below."

"Wait!" Kami pleaded. "I have one other idea in mind. King Yemma, it is with the utmost respect that I ask you permission to send Goku down Snake Way…"

* * *

 _Lower Realm…_

Everyone had taken residence at Capsule Corporation for the moment, needing some time to get over the loss of Son Goku. Only Tien and Chiaotzu had been able to will themselves to head outside, doing some light training in the atrium to stay in shape.

However, that did not mean that they were the only ones moving out and about. Krillin hadn't slept. All these hours later, his heart still felt like it was racing. That one blast still stuck out in his mind — pink and yellow, with a spiraling tendril of energy around it, tearing through Goku's heart and killing him instantly.

He shook off the imagery for the moment, but shuddered in knowing that it would come to haunt him again. It always did.

Refocusing on what he had come to do, he knocked on one of the many laboratory doors of Capsule Corporation. When he didn't hear a response, he waited several minutes before deciding that his reasoning for coming in was important enough to supersede anything else.

Thankfully, Bulma had just been welding. She heard the door open and turned to face Krillin, silent. "There… something up?"

He could tell she was crying beneath the welding mask. As much as Goku's death hurt them all, it was nice to know that he wasn't the only one feeling such an intense pain in his chest. "No… well, not right now, anyway. I was just wondering, uh, since you were up… if you were willing to maybe hear out this idea I had."

As she removed the mask, Krillin could tell his prediction was correct. It made him feel both happy and sad that he could feel his friends' emotions so well. "I'm listening." She tried to assert herself as the confident girl she always was, but it seemed harder for her now.

"I was wondering if you could make a backup Dragon Radar." Krillin pressed his fingers together. "I know it's probably difficult, but if we could split into two teams to hunt down the Dragon Balls, we can find them faster."

That was the first time Krillin had seen Bulma smirk since Goku's death. It wasn't quite a smile, but he'd take it. "You really thought I wouldn't make another Dragon Radar? After how many times Goku's banged it up, I decided to make two."

"All right, great!" Krillin smiled back. He didn't dare to tell her the other ominous thought on his mind—that Piccolo was probably anticipating them coming. "I'll let the others know. Tomorrow, we go hunting!" He turned on his heel and ran off, eager to spread the news.

Bulma put on her mask and got back to work, hoping to lose herself back in a distraction once again. However, the one pervading thought that ran through her mind was Krillin's determination to resurrect Goku. 'He really has come a long way, hasn't he?'

* * *

The Z-Fighters were not the only ones on the move for the Dragon Balls, however. True to his word, Piccolo had already started his hunt for one of the seven mystical spheres.

At the very moment, Piccolo had found himself in a wasteland with several dinosaurs thrashing about. Gracefully - and almost pitifully, he added to himself - he dodged their lunges with little effort, scanning the horizon for anything orange to pop out at him.

He did not expect a fist to come soaring at him, catching him in the cheek and sending him flying backward. While he easily recovered, he felt a chill rush through him at that familiar orange gi. "G-Goku?!"

As he focused more on the figure that was rushing him again, he breathed a sigh of relief. 'I was foolish to think he could come back so easily. It's one of his friends… the long-haired one.' He growled in anticipation of the battle ahead. "Come at me, if you think you stand a chance!"

* * *

Yamcha knew he didn't stand a chance. But there was still something he knew that Piccolo didn't. With a battle cry, he roared, "with pleasure!"

Yamcha vanished from Piccolo's sight, prompting the demon to look to either of his sides. Unfortunately, he failed to consider looking right above him, which allowed Yamcha to drop a firm elbow onto his skull and send him spiraling toward the ground. The dinosaurs let out a shriek as they saw the monster that had dominated them so easily flying toward them, and scampered away from the battlefield just before he hit the ground.

The Turtle student descended to the ground, taking only a second before rushing Piccolo with his leg extended. The son of the demon king, to his credit, quickly recovered and fired off two heat-seeking rays of light from his eyes, one of which caught Yamcha in said outstretched leg. He winced, having to halt his flight, and was left open for a knee thrust to the face that sent him soaring backward.

"Hn. You were a fool to pursue me. And what's more, I thought I had suppressed my energy." Piccolo cracked his neck. "Although I suppose having to deal with those dinosaurs set me off." He smiled. "Now I know what to avoid. And speaking of avoid… where are the rest of your friends? I'm sure they're lurking around here, just waiting to attack."

"They're not here," Yamcha responded. Oddly enough, he didn't look shaken by that fact whatsoever. "But they don't need to be. I'll be the one to take you down and correct Krillin's mistake."

"Is that right…?" Piccolo dug his heel into the dirt. "Well, human, since you don't want to believe me, let me tell you something that should have already been burned into your brain by now. I am the evil half of Kami. If I die, he dies. And if he dies, the Dragon Balls do. They put a strain on his soul, almost like a monkey hanging off a branch. And when that branch snaps… it's over. I'll make this clear: you will _never_ see Son Goku again."

"And let me tell _you_ something, Piccolo: bad guys lie." Yamcha took a fighting stance. "I should know. My entire life, I've lived in a desert, robbing people of their belongings and beating them mercilessly if I couldn't. Goku was the one to help me move past that lifestyle, and I owe him everything. I won't believe a word of this until I hear it from Kami himself!"

"Oh? And where is he now?" Piccolo inquired. "I would have expected him to have stayed with the rest of your sorry lot."

"I don't know… he told us he was going to help save Goku and teleported away."

Although Piccolo kept a stoic mien, he scowled to himself. 'That fool! Now I _really_ need to make sure Goku doesn't come back to life…'

"I trust our Guardian much more than I could ever trust you," Yamcha narrowed his eyes. "Your dad conquered Earth's kingdom, and would've ruled the world for years on end if it weren't for Goku. Who do you really think I'm supposed to believe?"

"He won't tell you," Piccolo easily responded. "His life mission has always been to keep his other half at bay at all costs. I guarantee he's willing to die, even if that means you lose your precious Goku."

He could tell that set Yamcha off, as he raced back toward him and caught him in the ribcage with a roundhouse kick. Piccolo let out a howl of pain as he clutched his abdomen, wheezing heavily as he stepped back several times before falling to a knee.

"You didn't have a Senzu Bean," Yamcha emotionlessly responded. "You're still not fully healed from your fight with Goku and your beating by Krillin. Even if I wasn't at my best, I could still take you on."

"Hah… hah…" Piccolo panted. 'So that's it. He called my bluff. He knows I'm not at one hundred percent…' Even still, he took his fighting stance. "I still don't need to be at my best to beat you."

He closed the distance between himself and Yamcha within a heartbeat, phasing behind him and thrusting a fist into the back of his spine. To his credit, Yamcha powered through the pain and threw his elbow back, meeting Piccolo's nose and nearly cracking it right then and there. In retaliation, the demon grabbed Yamcha's long hair and, with his superior overall strength, hurled him over his shoulder before firing a bolt of energy at him.

"He's good," Piccolo muttered under his breath as he watched Yamcha recover in time to block it, sending up a cloud of smoke. "His showing in the tournament wasn't even close to what he's like as a fighter…"

He faintly heard a distorted roar emanate from that smoke cloud, and his eyes narrowed. "And just what is he—"

" **WOLF FANG FIST!"**

With a howl, Yamcha rushed back toward Piccolo, his fighting style much more rabid than before. Piccolo found it difficult to parry all of the ex-bandit's strikes, only managing to get one strike in for every three that the hero had. Slowly but surely, he knew he was being overwhelmed, and it was then that he decided to take drastic action.

'I was weaker than Goku… but that didn't stop me from killing him!' Piccolo thought to himself. It was then that he dropped his guard and allowed Yamcha to beat down on him, silently concentrating his energy and focusing in on the human's heart. He was so acutely focused on it that Yamcha's taunting didn't bother him.

'Just… rng… a few more seconds…' Piccolo voiced inwardly, before a lightning bolt throughout his body told him he was ready. 'Say goodbye, you loudmouth!'

Unfortunately, just as Piccolo's arm thrust out, Yamcha had already caught it. Piccolo let out a gasp of wonderment, only now just beginning to feel _true_ fear. "W-Wha… how did you…"

"If you were a little faster, you'd have gotten me." The grip on his arm already tightened, and the demon let out a roar of pain. ""It was my mistake to not expect such an underhanded move from you… again."

Yamcha extended his leg and kicked Piccolo right in the stomach; sending him skidding along the ground before he came to a fragile stop. The demon wanted to move, but his body just wouldn't comply. 'He saw my fight with Goku… he knows where I'm hurt. God… damn… him…'

The ex-bandit thrust his arms out in that ever so familiar way, a blue speck of energy beginning to coalesce between his palms. "I'm ending this… now. **Ka… me…"**

Piccolo wished he could, at the very least, stand in defiance of his own demise. As it stood now, however, he could barely keep his eyes open and his mind in the realm of reality. "D-Damn you…"

" **Ha… me…"**

" **HAAAAAAA!"**

'That's not the long-haired one's voice!' Piccolo realized, and he was proven correct when an expertly-placed kiai collided into Yamcha's own, cancelling it out.

* * *

"T-Tien!" Yamcha gaped. "But why?"

"You should know why, Yamcha." Tien descended to the ground. "I was hesitant to believe Piccolo too, but Kami's returned and told me all I need to know." He looked defeated, almost. "And Piccolo's telling the truth. If he kicks the bucket, so do the Dragon Balls."

"Glad that's finally established," Piccolo sardonically replied. "I was wondering how many more times I'd have to repeat myself."

"Shut up!" Yamcha snarled. "Just because we need you alive doesn't mean we're going to let you roam free!"

Piccolo laughed. At first, it was a slow, ominous chuckle, but by the time he fully made it to his feet it was a full out chorus of bellows. "You don't have a choice!" He splayed his taloned fingers across his face, neither of the humans understanding what he was doing until it was too late.

" **SOLAR FLARE!"** he roared, a blinding flash of light racing out and snatching the humans' vision in seconds. They both cried out in pain and surprise, leaving Piccolo an easy avenue for escape. But before he did so, Yamcha could hear his voice ring out one more time.

"This is your last chance to escape with your lives. My only goals were killing Goku and achieving world domination. Don't make me change that."

And with that, Yamcha could hear him soar off into the sky, the ex-bandit cursing his inability to track him. He half-expected to be lambasted by Tien, and in hindsight, he probably deserved it. But it never came.

When he asked him why he wasn't upset, Tien's response was simple. "You couldn't have known. Who would trust the son of the demon king?"

"Thanks for understanding, Tien," Yamcha responded, rolling his shoulder. "At least we know what we have to do now."

"You're right… we do." Tien remained cryptically silent, something that Yamcha took note of. Wordlessly, the two began to fly back toward Capsule Corporation.

* * *

 _Welcome back to_ Shining Spirit, _everyone. I have to admit that even I didn't expect to update this quickly, although I won't pretend like this is going to be the norm - I just happened to have the combination of both time and motivation on my side._

 _In any regard, I hope that none of you are disappointed by the brevity of the Yamcha vs. Piccolo fight, and this chapter in general(it could have gone longer, but I decided that the scenes that come next serve better as their own chapter). As I'm sure you can tell, this portion of the story is not truly meant to be about fighting with Piccolo Junior. It's supposed to be about the bond between comrades, a psychoanalysis of where the Z-Fighters would perhaps go after losing the one person that held them together. Don't fret, though, action lovers— there is still more to come, and it will be moreso on the lengthier side. Readers of mine know I like to establish a firm foundation for stories before I really get into any major conflict._

 _Next chapter, we're going to check in with the cast of characters we've established and then, hopefully, get into some of the more intense stuff that this arc will provide us with._

 **-jplaya2023: I'm assuming the earthlings are going to train with kami or go in the ROSAT if they want any chance of competing with piccolo.**

For now, they can take comfort in the fact that Piccolo Junior hasn't fully healed from the battle with Goku. I did this intentionally so that people would realize that his kill on Goku was essentially sheer luck. It didn't feel right to write out what was essentially one divergent attack from the show, especially when I felt the story worked better with a cold opening.

Also, Kami has his own agenda for the moment, as I'm sure you can tell.

 **-super mystic gohan: nice chapter hope to see more off your work. one little thing piccolo blood purple by the way**

I'm kinda just following what we see in canon. Piccolo's blood is purple in everything following(but not including) the Raditz fight. As a conservative when it comes to the Dragon Ball universe, I chose to keep it the same in homage to the series.

- **Transformers g-1's Prime:** **Truth be told, I've never read a story that's involved Piccolo killing Goku during the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. I'm actually excited to see where you're going with this story and how characters interactions will be without Goku being their to lift their spirits, especially since they're facing off against the reincarnation of the Demon King (which I am glad, because I am one for an evil Piccolo story).**

You're spot on with the bit about everyone having to deal with a lack of Goku, but I don't know if I'd exactly call Piccolo "evil" in this story. While he's certainly not going to reform(or perhaps even live - it should be noted that I'm going to be tweaking a lot of things in this story), he won't be shown the virtues of mercy and kindness he sees in canon due to Goku and Gohan not exactly being part of this story at the moment.


	3. Judgment

**Piccolo Junior Saga - Part 3: Judgment**

Everyone had congregated around an unused room in Capsule Corp, an assortment of chairs hastily sprung together in order to hold a brief meeting. Kami, for his part, was stunned to learn that the human he had defeated in battle held such a strong showing over Piccolo—although, he reminded him, Piccolo was far from at his best.

"I know," Yamcha acknowledged. "If I'm overkill for him at this point, all of us together would be able to take him in easily. But Piccolo was careless once, and he won't be again."

"The best course of action is still to slay him when you have the chance," Kami insisted. "I have lived many years and seen many sights. The destruction that the Piccolo name can cause, to both mind and body, is beyond any other. He is worth any life, any soul, to bring down."

"This isn't about you, buster," Chi-Chi snapped, gaining back a small amount of her fiery temper. "This is about getting my Goku back. He didn't deserve to die, not after all the things he's done for everyone."

Kami bristled at the accusation. "Far be it from me to make this matter about myself. However, if left unchecked, Piccolo will claim many more lives than simply Goku."

"That brings up something interesting…" Tien cut in, all eyes going to him. "Piccolo mentioned that he had no intention of killing us. He was only after killing Goku and conquering the world."

"That doesn't mean we're going to let him do it," Krillin interjected. "Even forgetting the fact that he killed Goku, this is Piccolo's kid. There's no shot he's got a good bone in his body."

"No kiddin'," Launch cut in, banging her fists together. "He's gotta get axed the second Goku gets back." Her thin, green eyes glanced over at Krillin. "Didn't you have somethin' you wanted to mention?"

"Huh?" Krillin raised an eyebrow. Then, suddenly, he remembered. "Oh, right, yeah. We have two Dragon Radars now, so we can split into teams of two to track the Dragon Balls. I dunno who should go with who, but we should probably prepare for Piccolo to be lurking by any one of the Dragon Balls?"

"Then why split into two groups?" Tien pointed out, turning the focus toward him. "Piccolo's crafty. He could have probably killed one of us back in that wasteland if he really chose to."

"No, I get it," Yamcha spoke up, a new wave of confidence rolling over him. "If I could beat Piccolo on my own, there's no shot he could take down a small group of us. And if we split into two, we can cover more ground." He received a nod from Krillin.

That drew the ire of someone in the group, though they chose to remain silent for the time being. Unfortunately, they knew that the threat of Piccolo was a much bigger priority for now.

"This all sounds wise," Kami explained. "Even if Piccolo were to escape our grasp for the entire year, Son Goku's training in the Other World will surely be enough to overwhelm him." He bowed his head. "I apologize for withholding the truth from you for so long. As Guardian of this Earth, nothing has ever frightened me more than my other half running loose. I won't be able to rest easy until he is subdued once more."

"Could've just said so from the beginning," muttered Chi-Chi, though the aged guardian easily picked it up with his enhanced hearing.

"I promise you, on my very guardianship, that Goku will return to you." Kami closed his eyes. "You may not know this, Chi-Chi, but I trained the boy - no, not a boy, but a man - for three years. I have never seen such purity in a soul before, and it pains me that it is my other half that killed him. He will walk among the living again; this much, I swear."

Everyone remained quiet for several moments, taking in the severity of such brazen words from an otherwise impartial figure. From then on, Kami went silent, and motioned toward Yamcha to continue with his speech.

"So, um, I guess that just leaves the matter of covering the teams." Yamcha hastily recovered control of the conversation. "I was thinking that I'll head out with Tien and Chiaotzu, since our fighting styles are so different. Kami, are you going to help out?"

Kami half-chuckled. "Of course. Everything I just promised you all would be in vain if I didn't. However, my close friend, Mister Popo, will be able to aid us greatly in our search. His magic carpet can take us to near any location on this planet."

"That sounds great!" Yamcha grinned. "Krillin, Chi-Chi, you guys are probably the best at hunting. If it's all right, could you guys go with him?" Yamcha's eyes darted around the room, getting confirmation from both of them. "That'd leave Bulma and Launch here to keep track of the Dragon Balls and give us any updates on what's happening with the other team. If we start tomorrow, we'll have more than enough time to wish Goku back." He settled down, clearly content with himself. "I guess that's really—"

Bulma exhaled from her nose loudly, cutting Yamcha off. "Do you really think you can just go rushing after Piccolo again, mister?"

Yamcha looked taken aback by Bulma's accusation, frowning. "W-What're you…"

"I know you, Yamcha. You're not taking this lying down. There's a chance… a very good one, in fact, that you're going to completely cut out and go after Piccolo. It's eating up at you that you didn't get to capture him, and you know it."

The ex-bandit didn't flinch at Bulma's words. "He'd be the one to make the first move, not me. I already told you that he's not going to be running around for a fight."

"That's not gonna stop you, is it?" Bulma's voice built with quiet rage, sparking fear into most of the people present. "I know how hard this hit you. We're all hurting. But if you think you're going to run off to prove something you don't need to—"

"I already did!" Yamcha shouted back, catching everyone off-guard. "I don't know if you heard me before, Bulma, but I beat Piccolo! I had him down for the count! The only thing that's ripping at me right now is that we don't have him trapped here, where we don't have to worry about him! If it wasn't for me being distracted, we'd have Goku alive in just a few days instead of having to worry about that bastard!" He slammed his fist on the table, causing it to tremor violently.

"Yamcha…" Krillin gasped, unable to comprehend this new side of his friend. It was nothing like the goofy, fun-loving guy he'd come to know. "You can't beat yourself up for this. We have to put our priorities in check here, and that's getting the Dragon Balls."

"You don't think I know that?" The glare Krillin received held such fire behind it that he visibly recoiled. "I'm the only one holding this together! Tien, Chiaotzu, and Kami are the only ones that have even tried to do anything; the rest of you have all been sobbing like babies!"

"Babies?" Bulma screeched, standing up and jabbing her finger right into Yamcha's chest. Such a sight brought shivers to everyone's face. "I owe my life to Goku a hundred times over. So do you. If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have met me, much less even gotten to date me!"

Yamcha's eyes widened for a brief moment, before he scowled in disgust. "Are you really that self-absorbed?"

"It was either I said that," Bulma snapped back, "or I mentioned your pathetic little desert you grew up in."

Puar, who had elected to remain silent throughout this entire endeavor, finally had enough. "How dare you bring that up! Yamcha and I weren't spoiled like you were living here!"

"You are now, thanks to me!" Bulma hissed back. Her temper had clearly reached its melting point. "And now your idiot friend is trying to sneak off and beat Piccolo because of his own problems!"

" **ENOUGH!"**

Everyone looked at Tien, who had clearly had it with this meaningless back and forth quibble. "I don't really care about your little lovers' spat right now, and neither do the rest of us! Goku means a lot to _all_ of us," he gestured around the room at everyone. "Isn't that enough for us to band together, at least until he's alive again?! Kill each other then, I don't care, but if you're going to waste your breath arguing, how about you remember that for every second you do that, Goku's among the dead?!"

Tien had nothing more to say after that, turning his back to the group and walking toward the exit of the room. "C'mon, Chiaotzu, we're leaving." He stopped only long enough to glance at Krillin. "We'll be ready at six in the morning. Give me the word when we're going to move out."

"W-Wow…" Krillin stammered, flabbergasted. "I've never seen Tien have such an outburst before…"

"Perhaps now you see what Son Goku means to you all. Not just individually, but as a unit," Kami commented. "Emotions can run amok in situations like these. I do not blame any of you for letting out your sorrows."

"Sorrow?" Bulma spat. "I feel sorrow for Goku. I feel pity for Yamcha."

Yamcha didn't respond. "I think it's time we head out too. I'll take a spare room, if you don't mind."

"Why? Is the desert not comfy enough?" Bulma dryly remarked.

Yamcha's muscles tensed involuntarily. "You could probably stand to try it once or twice. Maybe you'd actually be of help to us then instead of just pumping out Dragon Radars every now and again." With that, he walked off, not giving the heiress a chance to reply. Puar ran after him, calling his name, but the ex-bandit didn't even look back once.

"This is just annoyin'," Launch commented, watching the ex-bandit walk off. Her eyes turned to who was left in the room. "You want dinner or somethin'? I can fix it up real quick before you guys head out tomorrow."

"Probably for the best. I can help a bit too," Chi-Chi sighed, clearly emotionally drained. "Maybe I can try to get to know you guys a little better. I'm sure you're all worth talking to if you knew Goku and my dad."

At that, Krillin grimly smiled. "Anything to get us off this terrible topic."

* * *

Across the world, a rather well-built man continued his walk through his apartment hallway. A lot raced on his mind—too much for him to handle. He glanced at his duffel bag, which was heavier than usual. Still, though, he was comforted by the idea that his loving wife was waiting just behind the door for him. He turned the key to his safe haven and smiled at the sight of her, waiting with dinner already prepared.

"Miguel!" he exclaimed heartily, going over and hugging her tightly. "I've missed you."

Miguel frowned at her husband's condition. He looked ready to keel over at any second. "Are you sure that training this hard is a good idea? We can barely afford to keep making payments on the dojo as is…"

The man frowned. He knew the topic was going to come up sooner or later. Subconsciously, he wondered if he had stayed away for a longer period of time _because_ he wanted to avoid it."I know, honey, I know. That's why I've got to make the most of my time now."

"You can't defeat Mercenary Tao," Miguel commented, bringing up the elephant in the room, "and if that's the only reason you're training, I want you to stop right now."

That earned a sad, gloomy frown from her husband. "It's not about him. I…" he sighed, running a hand through his afro. "I know I can't beat him. But I can be stronger in case you ever need me. In case… our family needs it."

There was silence in the room for several moments. Both husband and wife awkwardly picked at their food, waiting for the other to continue the conversation.

"That was the other thing we needed to talk about," she finally whispered.

"I know we can't afford all these doctors, but I know how much having your own child means to you." The afro-haired man sighed heavily. "I promise you, Miguel, you will give birth one day."

"Mark…" Miguel felt tears begin to prick at her eyes. "When we got married, it was supposed to be simpler than all this. You've done so much just to make ends meet… and now, I'm the one who needs saving again."

This brought a smile to Mark's face. "There's still hope, Miguel. You ever hear of the Dragon Balls?"

"The… Dragon Balls?" Her black eyebrows went up in confusion. "I haven't, no. Is that some sort of—"

"No," Mark cut her off, his face flushing as he imagined where she was going with that comment. "But get this. I found this huge orange rock while I was by Master's old dojo, and when I asked around, some people told me that it can grant us any wish we want." He pulled the five-starred sphere out of his duffel bag, grinning excitedly. "So… I was thinking that we could ask it to help you become fertile. We could finally start a family."

To his surprise, Miguel didn't look as enthralled as Mark had expected her to be. "What's wrong? You love folklore and mythology like this."

"That's because I know what they are, Mark: they're stories used to pass the time." Miguel took the sphere into her hands, at Mark's insistence. She stared into her own reflection within the sphere, hating how hopeless she appeared to be. "It's not that I don't want a family with you. I do. But I just can't put my faith in this. I'm just glad you didn't pay any money for this scam."

Mark felt disappointment course through him. "Well… if you don't wanna try, then can I, at least?" He _had_ to believe in the Dragon Ball. It was perhaps all he had left. "Please, baby… we've worked too hard to stop here."

"You can try," Miguel dejectedly responded, propping her head up with her elbows. "I just doubt it'll mean anything."

"That's because it won't."

Mark and Miguel both flinched at the gruff voice outside their door. Nodding to one another, Miguel set down the Dragon Ball and got a baseball bat. Mark readied himself for battle before speaking up. "W-Who's there?"

"I can tell you what you want to know. All you have to do is let me in."

Mark, perhaps against his better judgment, responded. "How do I know you're not just waiting to shoot a bullet at me?"

"I don't need bullets," the voice drawled at him. "And if I wanted to break in, I'd have done it already."

Now that he had focused in on the voice, he was sure that it wasn't Mercenary Tao. If this was some loudmouth goon, he was sure he could take him down if there wasn't any firearm involved. And the possibility of learning more about the Dragon Ball was just too tempting to pass up, no matter the cost.

Mark looked back at Miguel, who was trembling in place. He motioned for her to go into their bedroom. "If there's anything wrong," he whispered, "I'll shout."

"But… Mark…" Miguel tried to persuade him, but she could see his mind was made up by his firm, hard expression. She took one final look at him before she quietly tiptoed over to the bedroom door, closing it as quietly as possible.

Mark breathed a sigh of relief. 'This may be a stupid call… but if anything bad happens, I'll know she's safe.' He stared at the door, his heart racing. "It's open."

With surprising poise, the door opened, and in came a peculiar man. He donned a white turban, wore a lengthy cape of the same color, and boasted green skin. He was tall—much taller than any human he'd ever come across. He appeared to hold no emotion past his voice.

"My name is Majunior," he introduced himself, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mark."

"H-How do you know my name?" Mark responded, careful to avoid any physical contact with the stranger. "And how do you know about the Dragon Ball?"

Majunior smirked for a moment, chuckling to himself. "An old friend of mine… he made a wish on them before." He saw the confusion in Mark's face. "Yes, _them._ There is more than one Dragon Ball, and that's the reason you won't get your wish from this one right here. You'll need to collect all seven if you want to help out your wife."

Catching Majunior's gaze drifting off toward the sphere, Mark hurried toward it. "You're not getting it. You'll have to kill me before you do."

"A possible scenario, but one that benefits neither of us," Majunior coolly returned. "I don't have a wish I want to make, but I _will_ need that Dragon Ball. However…" he trailed off. "If you comply with me, I will help you get your wish."

"What's in it for you then?" Mark suspiciously inquired. "There's no way you would go out of your way to help me if you didn't have something at stake."

"You're right… _friend._ " Majunior's voice sent an icy chill through Mark's very soul. "There's a particular party that I don't want the Dragon Balls being used by. Their goal is to revive an evil being that I'm sure you've heard of. Does the Demon King Piccolo ring a bell?"

Mark nearly passed out at the mention of his name. However, the cold sweat he had broken out into instead certainly didn't do his presentation any favors. "Y-Yeah… who would want to do something like that? I mean, he nearly took over the world three years ago?"

"Yes, well, there are some people out there stupid enough to revive such a monster," Majunior responded. "The Dragon Balls, as powerful as they are, hold limits. If we can keep the group I'm talking about away from them for one single year, or make a wish on them beforehand, Piccolo will be locked away forever in hell."

Mark could have sworn he saw a bitter scowl cross Majunior's face, but he chalked it up to his overall fatigue. "So is that why you want to help me get my wish? Because it will mean that this group won't be able to bring back Piccolo?"

"Now you're catching on," Majunior nodded, walking around the small kitchen and stopping when the Dragon Ball sat just below his line of vision. He stared at each of the five perfectly carved stars. "It also helps that I've seen your potential, Mark. After I found out you had the five-star ball, I came across your dojo in the mountains. You hold an inner potential within you that surpasses the average human. You could be an excellent fighter if trained properly. I might even need your help to fight these people, if it comes down to it."

"I'm in," Mark immediately responded. He didn't even need a minute to think about it. "If I can do something right for this world… and stop an evil like Piccolo from coming back, you've got my help."

"I suggest you go into your bedroom and tell your wife before we leave," Majunior said, amused when he saw the shock in Mark's expression. "Trust me, if you're surprised at my hearing ability, you're going to be amazed at the power I can show you."

Mark felt an intense emotion surge through him. He didn't know what it was, but for the first time since his master's death, he felt optimistic. "There's one thing I need to ask of you."

"And that would be?" Majunior raised his brow. "I hope you recognize how generous I'm being by helping you out here. I could've just taken this ball and left."

"I-I know that, Majunior," Mark acknowledged. "But… this is important to me. Even if you train me, I doubt I'd be strong enough to beat a certain man."

"You need me to kill this Tao guy, right? Consider it done." Majunior turned back to face Mark, his face still as emotionless as ever. "If you prove to be capable of keeping that monster among the dead, I'll get revenge for your master. It should be no trouble."

Mark couldn't believe it. Every single hardship he had faced in his life was beginning to pay off. "T-Thank you!" he nearly sobbed, rushing to Majunior and enveloping him in a hug.

* * *

'He's… crying…'

Piccolo really didn't know what to do in this situation. He knew that in order to continue this facade, he couldn't just kick Mark away from him. But that still didn't leave him any less confused. 'Humans only cry when they feel sad… yet I'm giving him everything he wants.'

Throwing away that thought for the moment, Piccolo returned his mind to more pressing matters. ''I hate to admit it, but killing Mark might have actually taken some effort. I can't risk those pesky fighters sensing me again, or that'll be the end of me for sure.'

When he subconsciously heard Mark's sobbing begin to die down, the demon gave Mark what he hoped could pass for a friendly smile. "Go on. Tell her. I can wait a few minutes."

He watched Mark nearly bolt toward the bedroom, no doubt eager to tell his wife of their fortune changing so drastically. 'So… in the end, I've got the Dragon Ball and a right-hand man. I'll have to train him, sure… but he really could be something one day.'

Piccolo looked toward the sky, the tiniest hint of a smirk playing at his face. 'Well, Kami, guess you and I are cut from the same cloth after all. Except my student will be the reason your planet falls under.'

* * *

 _And thus begins one of the major reasons I wanted to write_ Shining Spirit. _I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because I know I did._

 _So, let's jump into the most obvious thing I need to clear up. I'm sure you will ask why Mark in canon is so skeptical about the Dragon Balls and all the fancy-shmancy light tricks. In short: he was bitter because in the canonverse, he did not have the opportunity to realize the true legend of the Dragon Balls; the legend had been misrepresented in his neck of the woods. Bitter, angry, and confused by the fact that the sphere did not grant him his wish, he sold off the Dragon Ball for a handsome price. This is what allows Mark and Miguel the ability to live in luxury while being able to fund the money to help Miguel's pregnancy, thus birthing Videl. From there on, the story of Hercule as we know him begins._

 _Here, however, I wanted to take some time to focus on Mark himself. Who is Mark? Why, despite all the fame and glory, does he have such a good heart? I knew I was going to include Mark as a pivotal character in the story, but I never had the idea to tie him into Piccolo's story until I was writing this chapter. I believe this particular decision will help me create a more dynamic saga and shed some more light on one of my favorite_ Dragon Ball _characters._

 _Hopefully this chapter helps emphasize the point that Piccolo Junior is still, for all intents and purposes, not as evil as his father. He, much like the rest of the cast, is going to be put through his own spiritual/moral journey. What started as a tactical decision to not raise his power level has now coalesced into Piccolo forming an alliance with a desperate, hurting man who will do anything for the dream of his family. Where that will lead both characters should help add some excitement to a storyline that was centralized on reviving Goku._

 _As I said before, this story is committed to utilizing characters that didn't get their chance to be a central focus during_ Dragon Ball Z. _While my other stories did work with that goal in mind, a common issue I found was that I didn't create enough of a distinction between some of those characters. I've worked intensely to try and resolve that matter for this story, and the result is a cast of characters that will hopefully entertain you throughout the duration of this fic._

 **-Transformers g-1's Prime:** **Damn...**

 **Have to say that the fight between Yamcha and Piccolo was pretty intense, since I thought Piccolo was going to win. Imagine my surprise when Yamcha nearly killed him, instead, and I like how smart he was during this fight as opposed to his usual cocky self by noting where exactly Piccolo was hurt at the most. It's things like this that makes me enjoy the fights you write.**

 **Keep up the good work!**

Thank you for the compliment! There's definitely something to be said for Piccolo's losing every fight he's been in(in Goku's case, though, he won the war). Perhaps that subconsciously led to his decision to recruit Mark…?

Fights will probably be longer in the future, for the record. I wanted to put as much detail into the Yamcha-Piccolo skirmish as both a way to get back into writing fight scenes as well as really putting over how hurt Piccolo was.


	4. Surface

**Piccolo Junior Saga - Part 4: Surface  
**

Dinner lasted well into the night. Krillin, Chi-Chi, Bulma, Dr. and Mrs. Briefs, and Launch attempted to all keep conversation about Goku to warm, nostalgic memories. Kami even spoke a word or two during dinner, attempting to try and lighten the atmosphere in his own way.

Yet, even when everyone had retired to their own personal rooms and Kami had returned to the Lookout for the night, Krillin still felt there was something unresolved. He couldn't put his finger on what, but he hoped that it wouldn't lead him to another sleepless night.

After he had changed into his pajamas, Krillin threw himself onto the bed, hearing the spring creak while he let his mind wander. "Nothing truly has been the same ever since King Piccolo, huh…?" Even following his resurrection, he had only seen Goku once—and that had been at the World Martial Arts Tournament. He couldn't help but feel that the Piccolo name had stolen so much from him, whether it be his life, the life of his best friend, or the rocky tension that was building between the entire group.

What he wouldn't do to kill the offspring of the demon king! He knew his prime opportunity would be right after resurrecting Goku, but even still, he had the odd feeling that his friend wouldn't allow it. Or had death changed his perspective on things, much as it had himself? He wasn't quite sure.

If Krillin had anything to thank for dying early on in his life - an awkward sentence in of itself - it was that his priorities had been put in check. His lust for pretty girls had transformed into a genuine desire to meet and marry a wonderful girl. Unfortunately, he had had no luck over the past three years, and now he would have to potentially set aside another year of possible courtship to gather the Dragon Balls.

He didn't blame Goku, though. Not in the least. However, there was perhaps a little jealousy in how easy Goku had found marriage. Chi-Chi was by every sense of the word stunning, and Krillin thought that, in another time, he would have perhaps asked her out if she hadn't held ties with his best friend. But while he was able to put those feelings behind him, it didn't change his desire for companionship.

His musings were brought to an abrupt end when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called, remaining motionless on the bed.

Bulma walked in, dressed in a Capsule Corp. tank top and pajama pants, holding a telephone in her hand. "Master Roshi called. He wanted to speak to you."

"What about Yamcha?" Krillin asked, immediately regretting having done so when he saw the fire in her eyes.

"What _about_ Yamcha?" Bulma frowned. "He's too busy brooding to even want to bother to speak with anyone. Anyway, you probably don't want to keep him on hold."

"Right, uh, yeah." Krillin took the telephone from Bulma's hand, motioning for her to sit down on the bed. "Hello? Master Roshi?"

" _Good to finally get to talk to you again, my boy! I'm, er, sorry I couldn't come with you to Capsule Corp. I needed time alone… time to grieve."_

Krillin sighed at that. "We all did, Master. Things haven't exactly been a party around here either."

" _I did the same with you and Gohan. The death of a friend is hard enough… but to hear that someone you trained has passed on is one of the worst feelings I've ever had in my life."_

"I understand, Master. Me too. More than anything, I wish he was still with us. I should've died instead."

" _Be glad you didn't die, my boy,"_ Roshi's voice sounded almost scolding, even over the telephone. _"At least Goku's death is reversible. If we kick the bucket again, we're gone for good."_

"Yeah…" Krillin morbidly chuckled. "Suppose that's true."

" _I mean it,_ " continued the Turtle Hermit. _"Life is precious, and you really never know when it will end. Spending it with the people who care about you is the greatest gift of all. If Goku hadn't come to my island, I probably would've spent the next hundred years alone with Turtle. I might've even turned you away as a student. I'm grateful for him changing that."_

Krillin felt an intense lump come to his throat. "M-Master…"

* * *

Bulma watched with a smile as Master Roshi's familiar voice just barely whisked out past the phone's receiver. 'Never thought I'd be happy to hear his voice,' she amusedly remarked to herself. Although the old man's antics got on her nerves, she knew beyond the surface that there was a sincerely good individual within him.

She swept her blue hair behind her, absentmindedly fixing it up into a ponytail as she waited to return the phone back to the main line. She hated to admit it, but her concentrating so much anger at Yamcha combined with the pain of loss had really tuckered her out. She wanted to sleep immediately.

"…I should've died instead."

That certainly picked up Bulma's attention again. She frowned at Krillin as he continued his conversation with his teacher, unable to understand his line of thinking. Despite her love for Goku and Yamcha, she doubted she could ever sacrifice her life to save either of them—even with the knowledge that she _could_ have been brought back. So why would he even think about saying such a thing, especially when he knew his death was permanent this time around?

She thought back to her encounter with Krillin just a day ago. He looked so much more determined, so much more… focused. It was a far cry from the goofy prankster she had once known. The love he must have felt for Goku rivaled - no, surpassed - her own.

" _Life is precious, and you really never know when it will end. Spending it with the people who care about you is the greatest gift of all."_

For all the physical pleasure Yamcha brought her, did he really care about her? And what about she him? She wondered sometimes. She supposed that she had helped him get over his fear of speaking to women, which was a positive. But tragedy tended to bring out the worst in everyone, and although she hated to admit it, her boyfriend was only interested in pure vengeance.

She supposed it spoke to what she preferred. Bulma had always been one for bad boys. There was something about the apathy, chiseled good looks, and cool demeanor that attracted her to them. But they didn't _care_ about her.

Bulma knew she had many years ahead of her, barring unforeseen tragedy. And she knew there were probably many better options to consider than the one she was right now.

But she wanted to feel cared for.

She gently pressed her lips to Krillin's, the latter being in such shock that he dropped the phone on the floor almost immediately. Not wanting to startle him any further, Bulma broke the kiss, staring down at him to see his immediate reaction.

"Wh-Wha…" Krillin tried to voice his surprise, but nothing came out. 'T-This shouldn't be happening…' he screamed internally, trying desperately to retain his sense of reason.

"I'll make this very clear, Krillin," Bulma softly spoke. Her angelic voice was in complete contrast to the fiery, temper-filled inflection she was known for. "I'd like to be cared for. I don't know what's going to happen… but I need someone to be with me. Someone I know who would stick by me through thick and thin."

She kissed him again, this time having the confidence to gently take him down and lay next to him in the bed. She nuzzled him affectionately, though for a split second she wondered if she felt the emotion she was expressing. At the very least, she knew she wanted to be here, in this moment. "We don't have to go too far. I'm okay even just staying here." Her blue eyes stared into his own, and she could see his resolve melting.

"N-No," Krillin suddenly exclaimed, though he made no move to break Bulma's arm wrapping around his neck. "You're Yamcha's girlfriend. This isn't right."

Bulma gave him a cold stare for a brief moment. "Not anymore. Being his girlfriend would mean he wanted to be with me… but I guess he doesn't, if tonight's anything to go by."

"I still… don't feel comfortable with this," Krillin admitted. "Y-You're, uh, very pretty, but…"

"Yeah, I get it. Should've expected it," Bulma laughed softly. "The same reasons that I want to be with you are the same reasons you don't feel right being with me." She pouted in a way that she could tell made his heart melt.

"It's not that… I…" Krillin stammered. He shut his eyes to avoid looking at her. "There's no world where we would make sense. I can't be what you want me to be, and I shouldn't be. Yamcha's still my friend, even if we're in a tough spot right now."

"Is that what you want? Or what you think you should feel?" Bulma asked, caressing his cheek softly.

The ex-monk paused for a moment, no doubt considering everything that came before this very moment. Her heart ached for comfort, so much so that she considered his pain her own—even if, deep down, she knew she was responsible for adding to it. Although she knew all she could offer to Krillin was her own physical self, she hoped that was enough to start something with him.

"I can't do this unless I know you're serious, Bulma," Krillin shivered. "I… never thought I'd ever say those words. You're so pretty, and I'm just… me." That earned him another kiss, one which tore at her heart. "If you stay here, I don't think I'll be able to let go."

"I am," she answered, although she regretted it a moment later when Krillin embraced her tightly. She knew she was hurting him, and yet she still needed him. "And you don't need to let go."

That told him all he needed to know, and he was the one to initiate the kiss this time. She graciously returned it, knowing her heart was safe in his hands. She could only hope his was safe with her.

* * *

" _And you don't need to let go."_

Master Roshi bristled as he hung up the phone. While normally he would've praised his student for scoring such a babe, his mind immediately went toward the future—and just what this unlikely union meant for the group as a whole.

"This can't be good…"

* * *

 _The next morning…_

Tien awoke from his slumber at six, as promised. He was almost methodical in his movements, having dressed himself in a matter of minutes. His mind was only focused on one thing: reviving his fallen comrade.

'Not only do you deserve another shot at life, Goku, but we need a tiebreaker,' Tien thought to himself, opening the door. 'I know your fighting spirit wants a proper resolution to our series of matches, and I can't lie and say I don't want it myself. In time, we'll settle who the better of us is once and for all.'

With that final thought in place, Tien opened the door to his room, ready to go wake up Chiaotzu. However, he noticed the door across from his open, and Bulma walking out of it with disheveled hair. She stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights, while his returning gaze was nothing short of his typical stoic self.

"I don't want any part of this," the triclops immediately qualified, folding his arms. "I'm just going to say that I hope you think you made the right decision." And with that, he walked off, leaving Bulma still standing in the doorway.

* * *

Bulma hated herself for admitting that she didn't know if she made the right decision. Even as Tien's voice brought Krillin just barely into the world of consciousness, she couldn't look at him and say she felt love for the ex-monk. Yet she knew the opposite likely held true for him.

'Oh, god, Krillin…' Bulma sighed, walking back to the bed and gently helping him awake. 'Just what have I gotten us into?'

"Hey, babe…" Krillin groggily remarked, laughing giddily. He kissed her cheek, and it stung her. She loved the feeling it brought her, but not the man behind it. "I gotta go," he continued. "Hopefully, we can get a few Dragon Balls today, if not all of them."

"Yeah, hopefully," Bulma responded, trying to sound cheery for her… boyfriend? She didn't know what to call him, honestly. "The sooner Goku's back, the better."

"I'm sure he'll be happy to see his two best friends got together," Krillin chirped happily, as if Yamcha wasn't going to be an issue whatsoever. She had to wonder why, but didn't dare bring it up. "Chi-Chi will be so happy, too."

"Mmm-hmm," Bulma murmured. 'Yamcha won't be… even if we're on-again and off-again all the time, there's no telling how he'll feel now that I slept with his best friend.'

* * *

That feeling of uneasiness continued into breakfast. Everyone sans Kami was gathered at the table, and, much to Bulma's relief, the tension that had befallen the group seemed to have wilted away for the moment.

Everything seemed to be going fine, in fact, until the end of breakfast. Everyone was making their final preparations to head out, and Yamcha just so happened to be the first one out. He wore a suspiciously normal expression, which was the final straw for her.

"You know that I slept with Krillin last night, right?" Bulma suddenly blurted out. She looked at him for any immediate reaction, but instead just got a small laugh from the ex-bandit. "W-What? What's so funny?"

"Honestly?" Yamcha asked, his chuckle dying down. "The fact that you thought that would hurt me. Did you really think Krillin wouldn't tell me right after it happened? He couldn't live with himself if he didn't.

You couldn't get me to talk any other way, so you had to go and break the rules of a relationship—just to feel like you won." He scowled, and oddly enough, Bulma felt much more comfortable with that. "I'm gonna warn you though, if you break Krillin's heart, you'll have more problems on your hands."

He grew more intense in that very moment. "But the thing is, Bulma, I know you will. You'll do whatever you can to make yourself feel better, whether that's breaking someone's hearts or using them to get ahead for yourself. The day's going to come when you pull the same crap with me—and I know I'm going to fall for it. Because as much as I hate you right now, I still love you. And I still want you."

Yamcha remained silent after that, sitting on a chair and eyeing the others' rooms intently. She could tell he was determined not to look at her again, and she didn't blame him. He had vocalized all of her thoughts and fears about her stint with Krillin, and now that they were out there for her to reflect on, she knew she was to blame for it.

'What did Goku ever see in me to be my friend in the first place?' she thought, disgusted with herself. She was glad that everyone was assembling into their respective teams now, discussing the locations they planned to visit as per their plotting the previous day. At the very least, it would give her time to think over her own question to Krillin—what did _she_ want?

She caught both of their stares at different points, and she felt her heart sink in torment. 'Damn all of this… I don't even have my own head on straight anymore.' Goku's death had really brought about emotion in her, emotion that she didn't know how to feel. Was her happiness truly with either of these two to begin with?

Despite being a genius, Bulma didn't know.

* * *

"Mister Popo… it is time. They're ready to leave; I'm sure of it."

"Kami," Mister Popo interjected, catching the guardian's attention. "If I may ask, my friend, why would you involve yourself in such a matter? The humans are more than capable of gathering the Dragon Balls themselves, especially with their radar."

"You are correct, Mister Popo, but this is my responsibility." Kami calmly exhaled. "Goku was the first mortal to train here in quite a while. He has done too much for the Earth to not have my assistance in his time of need."

"I understand," Mister Popo affirmed. "Have you found any trace of Piccolo on the Earth?"

Kami bristled at the mention of his counterpart's name. "Unfortunately, I have not. He'll never be able to fully hide his presence from me—I know that he's still lurking about. However, he's been masterful at concealing himself. If there's any true consolation, though, that only means his defeat will be all the more simple upon Goku's resurrection."

"I see," Mister Popo acknowledged. "In any case, shall we head off to Capsule Corporation?"

Kami nodded, levitating onto the carpet with ease. "We shall."

* * *

 _So… this was something._

 _I guess I should explain what led us to this point. We all know tensions are high between the group, and everything went from zero to eleven painfully quick. That was the point of these chapters being so short, by the way—it was a stylistic choice. I wanted to show how fast everything and everyone could be thrown into turmoil by this one change in the storyline, and I would like to think that I've done that as of this moment._

 _It's no secret that Bulma and Krillin is a ridiculous crack pairing. But, for one moment in time, they worked perfectly. Both are Goku's best friends and are probably the most emotionally drained from everything going on(except Chi-Chi, but we'll be seeing more of her starting next chapter). While everyone else is so driven on vengeance, these two are hurting from their already significant insecurities growing ever stronger. Bulma is suffering from an existential crisis with her own happiness, while Krillin feels powerless to reciprocate the help and support he's received from his best friend for so long._

 _This is where the summary of our story comes into play. Both characters are clearly using one another, in their own way, to suppress their pain. But how will they recover from this?_ Will _they recover from this? It's clear that tensions are only going to grow stronger within the group, especially as they begin to segregate into their own "teams" to gather the Dragon Balls… but will it be enough to stop Piccolo and Mark from achieving their own goals?_

 **-El Jord: I'm surprised at the extent to which Yamcha's acting out here. Granted, his and Bulma's relationship was always full of arguments and up and down, and he has a talent for getting overconfident, but it seemed a little too far in that direction if you take my meaning. The claiming everyone else was doing nothing including Krillin in particular seemed out of character. Emotions are high right now and this seems like a good way to illustrate both how much Goku was a binding force for the group as well as showcase how angry and lost the rest of the gang feels, so I'm not too worried, as long as this does not become the defining trait of Yamcha and an excuse to remove sympathy. I don't remember that happening in Turbulence, though, so I'll just wait and see.**

You hit the nail right on the head with emotions flaring. It's been the driving force for everything going on, including the short chapter style **(which, as a mention to everyone reading, will probably change slightly in the future)**. This isn't who Yamcha is, and deep down he knows that. We're definitely going to explore everyone's psyche in the chapters to come, especially that of the characters that haven't really gotten their own segments yet.

 **\- super mystic gohan: have you got abit off your story pre written up then ? would like to see you carry on with this story more than stop like 10 chapters threw im interested to see what happened.**

Surprisingly, no, I don't have any chapters written in advance. The short, almost burst-like nature of these chapters has simply allowed me to upload sooner. Thankfully, unlike other stories where this has happened, this is entirely intentional and aimed to help the story's focus out. I can't promise that I won't stop this fic eventually, but in the meantime, I've been driven to tell it when I've actually had the chance. I have a lot of interesting things planned for every arc of the story, which is also helpful. (My other stories took longer to build to the stuff I really wanted to write about. I didn't even get there, in most cases.)

 **-Transformers g-1's Prime: Now things are starting to heat up...**

 **Not even a few hours, and the group is already starting to break apart into small bits. I was surprised to see the argument between Yamcha and Bulma, but even more so of Tien's little outburst. I can tell that it's going to get more intense later on.**

 **Also, I actually like the idea of Piccolo recruiting other fighters to assist his cause and the history of Mark in your version is what I now consider an actual part of the story, in my eyes.**

 **Keep up the good work!**

Thank you for the compliments! This is probably just the surface of the intensity to come. The Piccolo Junior arc isn't scheduled to be a lengthy one, but it should be an impactful one.

As far as Mark's story goes, I love the Hercule character. Like, a lot. I wanted his backstory to give both the reader sympathy and contempt for him. We can't forget that Mark did deceive his way into his fame and glory, despite, for all intents and purposes, deserving it. He becomes a good man at the end of _Dragon Ball Z_ for using that fame to fight for what's right in the world, but it took a lot of courage to get to that point—as it will here. One thing's for certain, though—the Piccolo and Mark relationship will be something interesting as we trek on through our story.


End file.
